The abuse caught the attention of the 2-year-old's older siblings, the children's father, the Department of Children Services case worker and Tippecanoe County sheriff's deputies.

On Wednesday, her abusive behavior caught the attention of Tippecanoe Superior 1 Judge Randy Williams, who sentenced Tow to two years in jail for neglect of a dependent.

Tow pleaded guilty to that charge in December. Two other counts of neglect — one for allegedly abusing each of the 2-year-old's siblings — and one count of domestic battery resulting in injury were dismissed Wednesday, as per the plea agreement.

Despite letters from family members and friends pleading for leniency, some of whom said Tow had issues she was working through, Williams sent her to the Tippecanoe County Jail to serve a two-year sentence there, followed by a three month stint at community corrections.

Tow's plea agreement barred the option of sending Tow to prison.

With credit for pretrial detention time, she has about 172 days left of incarceration inside the jail, followed by the community correction portion of her sentence.

While all three children suffered at Tow's hands, it was the 2-year-old who took the brunt of the abuse, according to court documents. Tow burned the child with a lighter, put the child in a cold shower and beat the child with a purple broom handle, according to the affidavit, which noted that deputies found a purple broom at the West Lafayette apartment she shared with her boyfriend.

The two older siblings spoke up on behalf of the 2-year-old, which then led to a criminal investigation, according to the probable cause affidavit.

According to the affidavit, while Tow was talking with her friend, "Tow complained about (her boyfriend) paying more attention to his children than to her, and said she would think about hurting (the 2-year-old child).

"Tow said she blacked out and her 'disorder' took over during the abuse, and said she felt bad for what she did," according to the affidavit.

Tow told deputies at the time of her arrest in February 2018 that she did say those things to her friends, but she was lying to get attention, according to the affidavit.

Reach Ron Wilkins at 765-420-5231 or at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.